Improvement in car-brakes



UNITED STATES PATENT OEErcE.

HENRY MAEY, OF ZURICH, SWITZERLAND.

IMPROVEMENT rn` CAR-BRAKES.

Specication forming part of' Letters Patent No. l 94,449, dated August 21, 1877 application led June 2s, 1877.

To allwhom it may concern Be it known that I, HENRY MAEY, ofZurch, in the Republic of Switzerland, have invented an Improved Brake for Railway-Carriages; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification.

Figurel in the accompanying drawing is an inverted plan view, and Fig. 2 a vertical section made on the line .c .fr in Fig. 1.

The general features of the invention are the automatic application of the brake-shoes, which are attached to elastic levers by means of an eccentric or cam on one of the car-axles, and intermediate-mechanism, which presses the brake-shoes on the Wheels, the continued application of the brake-shoes to the wheels, after the action of the eccentric has ceased, by means'oil a locking device, whichholds the shoes so pressed to the wheels until said locking device is released from its control over the other mechanism, and the automatic removal of the brake-shoes from the wheels when the locking device is released, such removal beingeifected by a Weighted lever, assisted or unassisted by springs, which weighted lever, when raised, as hereinafter described, permits the automatic action of the brakes.

The brake-shoes a, of steel or wrought-iron, are attached by fiat springs b to the truck A or body of the car or locomotive, the said shoes being preferably attached to said springs at or about themiddle of the springs. To the lower ends of the springs are attached the pressure-rods c c'. The pressure-rods c are also pivoted at the ends opposite the springs to the lower endsof rock" bars or levers d, at`

tached to a rock-shaft, c, supported by brackets f. The pressure-rods c are pivoted to the upper ends of the said rock-bars d. Between the rock-bars d is a rock-lever, g, rigidly attached to the rock-shaft e. The said rockbars d, rock-shaft e, and rock-lever g may be considered as a single lever or a system of levers for applying the brake-shoes.

To the outer end of the rock-lever g is pivoted, through a slot, h, Fig. 2, the drawingbar i, preferably, but not necessarily, bifurcated at i. Said bar i is also pivoted at the extremities of the bifurcations i to the bars lc, for which a bifurcated or a single bar may be substituted, and which may, therefore, be considered as constituting a compound bar. Said compound bar k is in its turn pivoted to one end of a rock-lever, l, the other end of which is pivoted to a link, m, which connects it with a sliding rod, n. which slides in bearings 0 o, fastened to the car-truck. To the end ofthe sliding bar n is pivoted a connecting-bar, p, serrated at its outer end, and furnished with a clamping device, r, for joining it to another serrated bar attached tothe braking apparatus of another car, as indicated in Fig. 2. By this means the brake can be made continuous throughout a train; but when the invention is to be appliedto only one car, the rock-lever Z and the serrated bar p are omitted, and the compound rod 7c is directly pivoted to the sliding rod n, the rod k being in that case provided with a hooked notch on its upper side, near its junction with 'the rod n, to take the place of a similar hooked notch., Z', formed on the upper side of the link m, as hereinafter described.

To one axle of the car is rigidly attached an eccentric or cam, B, having preferably formed in it a rectangular groove, s. To the truck or body of the car or locomotive, in proper relation with said eccentric, is pivoted a swinging lever, C, which may be operated either by direct pressure of the eccentric B on that part of the said lever O which enters the groove s, or by pressure of the rims on each side of the said groove in4 said eccentric upon a cross-bar, t, inserted through the lower part ofsaid lever.

To the truck is also pivoted a weighted lever, a', which acts upon a shoulder, b', formed upon the lever U, when said lever a' is not raised, as hereinafter described, the 'action of the lever a being to push the lever (l away from the eccentric B, and, through the crossbar t, to .raise and hold suspended the rods c and k.

On the weighted end of the lever a! is placed a pulley, d', over which passes a cord, c', said cord also passing over pulleys ff, attached to the bottom of the car-truck.

To the under side of the car is also pivoted a hook-pawl, g', provided with a vertical lift- 2 .reame ing-rod,h, which extends upward to and above the platform of the car.

The cord e is united by hooks and eyelets to the cords of other cars, and, after -passing over the pulleys and f', is carried through iron tubing, and attached to the halustrade or railing of the platform.

On the upper side of the link mis formed a hooked notch, l', in proper relation for the engagement of the pawl g', and on the under side of bar 7c is formed a hooked notch or hooked notches, m', in proper relation with the cross-bar t in the lever U for the enga gement of said cross-bar, as hereinafter described. t

The notch l and pawl g form a locking device for holding` the brakes applied as hereinafter described, the position. of the locking device being more convenient under the platform of the car; lbut this position may be changed, and the locking device placed elsewhere over the bars 7a or t', which must then be notched on the upper side to engage the said'pawl.

The operation of the brake is as follows: When the cord e is drawn sufficiently to raise the weighted lever a', the lever C oscillates toward the eccentric or cam B, thereby bringing the cross-bar t into engagement with the notch or notches m in the compound bark, the weight of said bars and the drawing-bar 'i causing them to assume a lower position, limited by contact with the cross-bar t. The eccentricB then, in a single revolution, presses the brake-shoes upon the wheels through the medium of thev drawing-rod i, lever g, rockshaft e,'rockbar d, and pressure-rods c and c'. At the same time the compound bar la is thrust forward, and, moving the rock-lever l, draws back the link m till the notch l in vsaid link is engaged bythe hook-pawls g. This locks the brakes, and the brake-shoes thereafter remain applied to'the wheels, until released by lifting the hook-paw] out of its engagement with the notched link m, which is done by means of the lifting-rod It', when allv the parts resume their former positions and relations with each other.

It will be seen that the cord e needs only to he temporarily tightened, for, as soon as the engagement of the cross-bar t in the le. ver C engages the notches m in the compound bar k, the braking must he effected.

If desired, a spring, s', may be employed to bear upon the lever C, and insure a quicker action of the same.

A spring, s, may also be employed between the bearings o o of the sliding bar n, which, acting against a collar, t', formed on said bar, aids the Weighted lever in raising the suspended parts into the positions occupied by said parts before the brakes are applied.

1. The combination, with the elastic levers b, attached to the'car, locomotive, or carriage, and having brake-shoes attached to their centralportious, of pressure-rods c c', attached to the lower ends of said elastic levers, and a lever or system of levers, e g d, for operating the same, to apply the brake-shoes to the wheels, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In combination with the brake-shoes and a system of levers and rodsfor operating the same, an eccentric or cam on one of the caraxles, operating through the medium ofa lever, C, upon said system of levers and rods, to apply the pressure to the brakes at one revolution of the cam, substantially as herein specified.

3. In combination with the brake-shoes, a system of rods and levers, and an eccentric or cani on the car-axle, for operating the same, theweighted lever a', for restraining the action of the brakes, and the cord e', for raising said lever a and allowing the brakes to act automatically, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

' 4. The combination, with the mechanism for automatically applying the brakes, the compound har k, rock-lever Z, notched link m, and pawls g', the whole adapted to operate together to lock the brakes, as set forth.

5. 'lhe combination, with the braking mechanisln, constructed and operating substantially as above described, of the pushing-rod k, rocklever l, link m, and sliding rod n, for rendering the brakes continuous throughout the train when cars are coupled together, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 26th day of July, 1876.

HENRY MAEY.

Witnesses:

-Prn E. MARK,

Imperial German Consul. CARL GERNER. 

